6/10 Islander SCI...pays off

[madscientist]

Long story, here's the condensed version. Set sail Friday night on the Islander with a good group of 20+ yakkers after a smooth load up. Since they had been forced to fish Cat the last trip because SCI was hot, they had loaded up on live squid. A good sign. Dice and beer with the boys on the rode out, but fortunately didn't overdo it. Almost overslept anyway because the bunk was so comfy, but by 6:00am the most the of us were starting to get eager to go. One by one the yaks were lowered and the anglers headed out, including this guy...



There was a bit of a west breeze up that strengthened steadily. I went with my plan to get the meat fishing out of the way so I tied of on a stringer and worked the cut squid with an iron below. Couple goats and some toad whitefish later, it was time to move on. Wind was blowing pretty good by this point so I was flying along the kelp edges looking for a good CTF calico entry. Best I manage was a little over 3#, but they were coming fast and furious. Must have C&R'ed 30-40 calicos. Stupid fish.

I was tied off to a stringer screwing around with the little fish when Chris says over the radio, "Get out here". "Where?" "130". Uh, okay. The whole island is surrounded by 130. He had his hands full so I headed out of the kelp and let the wind start to blow me along the deeper edge. One zing of a bait lures me into paddling up wind to do it again. See Brian go bendo on the same drift so again I paddle against the now 20kt wind. Repeat one more time and decide I'm burned out, ready for lunch, and will just drift the rest of the way to the boat about 0.5 mile away.

Drifting two squid and throwing the iron. About halfway to the boat I'm winding the iron right off the bottom when it just stops. Then the line starts peeling off. Down to half a spool immediately. No time to clear the other lines as this fish means business. Long steady fight with the brute, all the time worried I'm going to pull the hook. He spins me three times so my boat and myself are completely wrapped up with my other two lines, but I kept the fish rod clear. After about 30 min it finally comes up and after a fortuitous belly shot, the 31.7 lb yellow is on board!



Come in for lunch and the word is that that's the current jackpot leader. I'm also thinking its a good fish for the CTF, but I know there's a lot of talent on the water as well. Afternoon was unproductive for me but others had chances. Sure enough, Andy hooks up on a fish with shoulders. Word is its a contender. Kept me out there looking for another. Finished at 8:00pm as the sun went down. After dinner we checked out the carnage wrought by the plastic fleet. 6 or seven big YT, some nice halibut, and some enormous calicos, including one over 8lb. Andy's fish weighed in at 28 and change so I had the pleasure of taking my first jackpot ($220) in a long time. Subtracted my beer and tackle costs and gave the rest to the crew.

All in all an incredibly fun and productive trip. Shane and crew really have the Islander dialed in for mothershipping and the boat was very comfortable. Between the crew and the other yakkers it was a great bunch of guys all serious about getting some fish and having fun doing it. I think we succeeded. Others will undoubtedly have more stories, better pictures, and video. Cheers!

[Holy Mackerel]

First, let me say, you Bastige for beating my JP fish!!! :lol: j/k

My Report:

Headed out on the Islander with Brad, Andy, Dave, Brett D., and Steamroll. A couple anglers talking strategy.



Let me first say that this boat has sweet accommodations, and a first rate crew... They were quick and efficient, loading, and unloading the boats.



Wind was tough early on, so I decided to head towards shore, and look for Halibut. Dan found a nice Halibut.



The water was beautiful, I would like to dive there someday... I tried out my "waterproof" camera... Saw some wierd, greenish, brown, sea leaf, looking stuff growing under water.



Wind was rough, I found it hard to fish. I made the mistake of brining all heavy gear. Lots of guys were killing, literally, Calicos in the kelp. Brad reported Sheephead being caught. Dave Easton informed me that the Islander was going to pick us up in the next cove. Tired of fighting the wind, I went on the drift that way. SCI is a great Island, I was just enjoying the view... Ran into Iceman, who had a heartbreaker story. Dave went into the cove, but I decided to stay deep 125 ft. and work an iron. We had live squirts, so I threw one out... About 15 mins into my drift... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!! Put rod in gear, snap!!! Oh well, I thought, there has to be more. So, I paddle up against the wind, get into position, start a drift into 130, or 130 ft, and about 10 mins into the drift.... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ! Rod in gear, BENDO!!!!!!!!!



Brad calls me on the VHF, I tell him to get to the following GPS corrdinates. I like to give specific directions to my friends...

N32°57.476', W118°30.898'

Later Steamroll shows up with Brett D. I took my time because I was using 20 lb fluoro, and I was uncertain about my knot, as the last one broke when the rod loaded up. Besides, I had moved to about 140 ft of water, so I took my time. About 45 minutes in the fight, Andy shows up with his video camera, and gets the last moments, before the gaff.



This thing squirted blood everywhere, all over my deck, new yellow paddle jacket, and my hands... This is when Steamroll said, "did you guys see that shark?" I say, "shut the bleep up!" Steamroll says, "NO, Iceman, do you see that shark," I turned around, sure enough, I saw a dorsal fin!!!! HOLY SH*T!! I start paddling like a madman. Brett D. says, "I am getting away from you," I beeline for the Islander, about 200 yards away. Steamroll catches up to me to tell me it was a mola mola... :lol:



The Islander provided lunch, we could see Brad on a fish, on the VHF, he confirmed the right kind. After lunch, I told Dave where I hooked up, he launched, Steamroll just behind him. I finally get my act together, and head out. I run into Nate, he says he, and Dave both got bit, and busted off. I drift through what is called "Chris' Pass" ZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!! Bendo!!! Fish on again, feels about same 25# class. Fought it for 15 mins, before it kelped me badly. When I snapped my line, it was only about 10 ft deep. I got about 10 mins of video of the fight.

Worked along the shoreline, the water was so clear you could see bottom, sometimes a little unsettling, wouldnt want to see anything too big swim under me. Ran into Litup-1 who reported his second Halibut for the day.. (i think this is the first one, before lunch)



Got to the boat around 6pm, saw Andy, talked to him as his reel ZZZZ! Bendo, but his story...

Decided to drift through, even though my arms, and body ached, this was a marathon day. Although, what is cool, is the boat parks down wind, you drift fish the whole day.



Watched the sunset, made bets who would be in last. Had a group photo, great dinner, desert, beers, then I was OUT!!!!!!



Great company, and crew, I plan on going again, next year!

Chris

[tylerdurden]

awesome reports and pictures. I wish I could have made it out to SCI this year but it was not to be.

[kurt]

Great reports. Glad your drought is over Chris.

[Dennis]

Beautiful fish, guys. I wanted to go, but the baby is due any day now... It wouldn't have been good being out there and missing the "call".. WAY TO STICK'EM!

Chris, looks like the yt flag was flyin'!!!

[madscientist]

The skunk is dead, long live the skunk!



Was great hearing Chris hooked up over the radio, though when I didn't hear the conclusion I feared the worst. Haven't seen a guy smiling that big in a while. Pat, you're up next!

[nmbrinkman]

JEALOUS I AM YOUNG JEDIS Man! Looks like a great time. If I only had the time.......... Gonna have the chance to do some weekday fishing, I am completely stoked :lol:

[DaveC]

Awesome, job guys. Sounds like a blast. Congrats Brad on the JP. Nice fat yellow. Chris, great to hear the drought is over. One of these days I am going to pull the trigger on an Islander kayak trip. Did a three dayer on her last year and had a blast. Heading out again this year on a three dayer mid-July. Boat and crew are top knotch. Fish handling is great as well. Congrats again to all on a great trip.

Dave

[katchfish]

Looks like a great trip!

Congrats on the JP Brad!

But most of all hats off to Chris for leaving that stinky skunk at the island!

Ken

[nmbrinkman]

Hurry up and get out there brad, without the reports were lost :cry:

[Dan]

Sweet island yellows and flatties too. Congrats on the JP Brad. And Chris, bout damn time :lol: :lol:

[Iceman]

Great boat, great group, great trip. I got off the boat and headed straight to work. I was hoping for an easy day, but went nonstop until 6PM, tonight. Dinner is over and I am Sleeeeepy. I did look through the video and it should make a cool retrospective. Chris is the star as he was the only one I was near when hooking up. I lost a nice fish around 8:30AM. After a couple runs it turned at me and ended up pulling the hook, I was thinking WSB, but I'll never know. Nothing else for me aside from the occasional calico, until Chris talked me into a bite around 6 PM (glad it was a 1 1/2 day). That fish took me past my 100 yard mark on my spectra and thought it would never stop. Fish pulled me right along the Islander with guys cheering me on, it was pretty cool. Shane and John jumped in the zodiac and started snapping pix, that put a little pressure on me :shock: Great way to end the day, SCI YT pull harder! I think they go deep in that cold water and they don't overheat as quick. I'll start working on the video manana........no, I must not fish tomorrow......must work.

Congratulations on a great fish Brad, You will not likely lose the YT flag, but I guess I'll keep looking

[Holy Mackerel]

Andy, I got about 12 minutes of video of me fighting the 2nd YT I lost. There are some nice "spectra" runs in it, cranking the fish, a little cursing Some dialog between me, brad, and also Nate on the VHF. I dont know how to edit it. Let me know if you can use it in your video.

Chris

[BWE Moderator]

Chris, I was thinking that would be cool, like 2 camera angles If I convert them both to the same size and format, I should be able to edit yours in to it.

[fishinhb]

Wow, sounds like you guys found the right kind. I was on the June 6th Islander trip to Catalina. Good times and lots of fish just not the exotics you found. Great job and congrats! Shane and crew are second to none.

Ron Pascual

[Brett D.]

Headed down to Fishermans landing and got on the Islander for a one and a half day trip to San Clemente Island. The crew made short work of getting all the yaks and passengers loaded up for the trip.

We had a load of about 23 anglers. Steamroll ,Holy Mackeral,Mad Scientist, Dave Easton and Iceman were all on board. No need to stop at the bait barge when you already have a tank full of squirts:


We got to SCI and anchored at China point at 5am with a bit of a breeze blowing right off the bat.

After a quick breakfast the kayaks were unloaded and off I went. I told myself I was going to fish for yellowtails first then bass in the afternoon. But I couldn't resist the sound of the waves crashing on all of those boiler rocks.
So off I went to the nearest set of rocks.
First cast into the rocks with a trixs spinnerbait resulted in getting slammed and broken off by a big bass before I could even get two cranks on the handle. 2nd cast was right back up into the same spot with a Jettyworm and with same results. x( I tied on a 4" Swimbait for the 3rd cast and went right back to the same spot. This time pay dirt:

It hit my swimbait and ran down and out from the rocks but into some thick kelp. I pulled on him for 2 minutes before he shot out of there and headed back towards the rocks.I had to put the rod between my knees and back peddle to get myself out of the danger zone. When I finally got him in the boat I was thinking 8pounds but he went 7.4 pounds on my scale. here's a 2nd shot of him in the foot well of the yak:

}( I fished for yellowtails for an hour after that and then went back to calicos because the wind just wasn't getting any better. But the bass fishing was insane. I was getting quality 1-2 pound fish with the occasional 3 and 4 pounder all morning. Everything worked. I pulled 3 off the rock in the background with a jettyworm.

Right before Lunch Holy Mackerel scored the first yellowtail of the day.

I forget the weight but it was some where around 25 pounds.
Trix spinnerbaits were the bomb all day. Slow rolling it just under the the surface produced explosive out of the water hits for quality bass like this 4 and 5 pounder.

Don't use the orange ones they don't work. :P

Here's Steamroll getting into the act:

Every time you hooked a fish you had at least 6 more follow you back to the boat. If the fish you hooked came unbuttoned, no problem there was another there waiting to eat your bait. Here's a underwater shot.

I ended the day with 40 bass. I could of had more easily but my arms were to tired to paddle. Once I was back on the boat I snapped this picture of Iceman fighting a yellowtail that weighed in at 28 pounds.

The diehards of the trip fished right up until sunset

I like d the moon rising behind Brad on this one.
All in all it was one of the more memorable trips I have ever been on despite the fact that I didn't bring any meat home. The accommodations were great and the crew was awesome and the passengers were all in good spirits. I will definitely book this trip again next June.
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[Lit-up1]

Great report to all above. Not much to add and thats good because my arms are still sore. Great job by the crew of the Islander :!:
Everything from food to coordinating the the boats on and off-I will be back.
What can I say about the fishing. All the calicos you could hope for and
when I decided to try for other stuff I had my chances.
Broke off a big YT :?: on the dropper loop-badldy tied I think-It was paddle up-stream for 15 minutes then in the time it took me to make a dropper loop Iyou were back to where you started. When I went for the halibutts I got one on the trap rigged sardine and then one on the plastic-
Fishing the beach was nice because the sun came out and the wind died down and the water was clear so you could see everything including the
flatteis banging the bait 15 feet below
Blackened halibut for dinner tonight-
Dave

[Will B.]

Ron Pascual, can you give us a detailed report on the Catalina trip? I havent heard anything about how that went.

[Useful Idiot]

Great trip, we'll be doing more of em next year for sure.

Quick report- I started out trolling one high, one low live squid and picked off a few bass around the kelp. Did a little dropper looping and heavy iron for some more bass and a treefish on the iron and power drifted by Brad in the kelp as he was exploiting a hole in the kelp bed. Came out of the other side of the kelp and started trolling across Pyramid Cove. I was in 90ft when I heard Chris and Brad talking up 120 so I swung it that way and sure enough right at 125 got picked up on a straight flylined squid. Turned out to be one of the smaller fish, right around 20lbs but man did that fish pull. Good times. Not much else happening for me until around 5 o'clock or so when I got absolutely freight trained close to the Islander at the last stop of the day. Broke that one off and had another similar experience with a hook pull in the same area. Freedivers were seeing a lot of seabass in the area but I'll never know...

Awesome trip, stay tuned for next year's dates, I encourage everybody to get on one of these things at least once. Hard to beat an experience like this.
-Brian

[bigderel]

Originally Posted by madscientist

I had the pleasure of taking my first jackpot ($220) in a long time. Subtracted my beer and tackle costs and gave the rest to the crew.

If I follow that formula, the crew ends up owing me $30! :lol: Good for you for stoking them out. Sounds like you guys have a very good trip, I tried like hell to make arrangements to be on this venture but couldn't swing the time off. Great reports & photos.